Holidays in the 21st Century

I've just returned from a short break away with the family. As usual we spent it under canvas. I love sitting out somewhere peaceful and green! However, such is the pace of life in the 21st Century that folk on some campsites seem to complain about 'not having a mobile phone signal' or 'not being able to get wifi for my laptop'.

Am I strange - because I consider it a distinct advantage not having access whilst I'm on my hols. It's supposed to be a break! Yes, I do take the mobile away with me, but if folk can't reach me they can always leave a message! We do usually go off site at least once a day (the shops are only a short distance away) and can get a chance to check messages then. And emails can of course wait!

I think that people lack the discipline; they can't seem to leave the technology behind. Hmmm ... need to ponder that a bit longer. Seems to strike a chord with me, too...

Luddite blogging

Ever since that fateful day a couple of months ago (a particularly grotty day in the office, lots of computer problems) I've identified in myself, for want of a better word, 'Luddite' tendencies which have led to the creation of this blog. The mere idea of a Luddite blog (in the modern day definition of the term) is of course strange in itself, but this becomes all the more curious when you consider this is written by a person who regularly emails, texts, and uses Facebook and Twitter. Part of this very entry was written on my mobile phone on the 1630 train home and posted to the 'net before I pulled into the station. So I am clearly not opposed to technology.

So, what's my problem, then? Well, it's not the tech I have an issue with, it's how it is used... If used properly the tools of the 21st Century can be beneficial, freeing man from his problems, enabling him to do much more than he ever could before. He can communicate with others, feel part of a community, live a life worth living. Used in the wrong way technology can enslave man, preventing freedom, fuelling greed and negative feelings.

Surely you can't be serious, I hear you ask? Oh yes. I've seen things this very month that have reinforced my views.

In the last month I've worked alongside folk with a variety of physical disabilities, using modern tech in the best possible way, to live real and satisfying lives. It was great - and I want to see more of this, to be part of this. While I was away from home, I kept in daily touch with my loved ones on my mobile, and Facebook.

But on the other hand there are always instances in the modern world where technology is used not to benefit man but to benefit production - to speed up work, so one man can do the job of four. And so three men lose their jobs! That's not improving life, that's just economics!

The sort of Luddism I embrace is one centred on social justice, not opposition to technological advancement. And isn't that really what Luddism is all about... isn't it?

Simplify!

Hardware: where the people in your company's software section will tell you the problem is.
Software: where the people in your company's hardware section will tell you the problem is.
(Dave Barry, Claw Your Way to the Top)

It's all too true nowadays, with complex computer systems, that the 'experts' on the Help Desk (sic) of your local IT Department often don't have a clue as to why your computer system won't work, or is doing what is does. And that's understandable, because modern-day computer systems are all too complicated. It could be a software problem or a hardware problem. Frequently it's a user problem (because you pressed the wrong keys, dummy! Or fiddled with the settings!). The modern-day man in the street is ignorant of these complexities, just wanting the system to work for him. However, the more functionality we are offered as a consumer, the more complicated our systems become - and the more complicated our lives become.

Simpler is better.

Out go the lights!

On Monday 20th July 2009, some people felt that we'd gone back to the dark ages. Suddenly the electricity failed and the lights went out! Nearly 100,000 people were affected across a large chunk of south-east London and north-west Kent. EDF engineers worked throughout the night to repair cables and deploy mobile generators. They finally got all service users back on power by today (Thursday 23rd July) The reason for the loss of supply was due to a fire on a cable bridge at the Riverside Industrial Estate in Dartford. The latest likely cause was either vandals or thieves.

Businesses and homes were affected. Many were sent home from work, shops unable to trade. Traffic lights stopped working, while toll booths at the Dartford crossing were out of action until operators could find back-up power. Charges were temporarily suspended - due to the backup of traffic.

What about our home? Well, my mum had taught me well, and I've been teaching my family the same. There's always a torch kept in a central spot in the house, a wind-up one just for emergencies. Out came the candles and matches, kept nearby. Out came the camping gas stove, so we could at least brew up. Out came the battery powered radio to keep us in touch. The children moaned a bit about having no TV or computers, but went off to read their books, while my wife and I sorted out drinks and lighting for the evening. The mobile phones were all fully charged, so they kept going until the lights came back on again.

We survived - because life is more than just modern technology! More later...

Progress?

When I was growing up in the Sixties, the thought of having computers and modern technology were always couched in terms of 'labour-saving devices', and the thought of an idyllic world where machines did all the menial labour, giving people time to enjoy life.

When I first started out in an office in the late Seventies, the telex machine was just being phased out, having been first introduced just after the Second World War. Telegraphy providers developed systems that used telephone-like rotary dialing to connect teletype machines. Provided each recipient had a machine, simple text messages could be sent within minutes. Most correspondence was in the form of traditional post. And if something was urgent, and you received a telex, you knew you had to turn it around within a week!

The Seventies saw the evolution of telefacsimile machines, popular in Japan as it was faster to handwrite characters than type them. Consisting of an image scanner, a modem, and a printer, the machine took off during the Eighties, being abbreviated to 'telefax' and eventually to simply 'fax'. Any office could have one, and they could be easily connected to a phone line. And if something was urgent, you knew you had to turn it around that day!

The Nineties saw the replacement of standalone fax machines by fax servers and scanners, and with the evolution of the internet and adoption of electronic mail it was increasingly easy to attach documents to send to each other from each desktop. This saw a financial advantage of reducing costs by eliminating unnecessary printouts and reducing the number of inbound analogue telephone lines needed by an office. Traditional post dwindled to a trickle, and e-mails ruled the earth. And if something was urgent, you knew you had to turn it around that morning!

The 21st Century is here, and we find we can communicate with each other by a variety of different electronic sources. We now communicate by text messaging, instant messaging, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, website links, intranet and extranet sites. Most of us have mobile phones with text messaging and e-mails can now reach you anywhere in the world if you have the latest Blackberry. And people will e-mail, fax you, text you, even phone you up asking for an urgent response. In today's world of fast cars, fast women and fast food, business has to be fast - urgent means right NOW!

Is that what they call progress?

Frustration!

I hate computers today. I'm on my twelfth 'unhandled error' and neither User Support nor the software company can tell me why.

This morning we had a glitch with the emailing system which didn't work for reasons unknown and then suddenly started working again 'for no reason'.

Arghh!

More computer wisdom...

"All programmers are optimists. Perhaps this modern sorcery especially attracts those who believe in happy endings and fairy godmothers. Perhaps the hundreds of nitty frustrations drive away all but those who habitually focus on the end goal. Perhaps it is merely that computers are young, programmers are younger, and the young are always optimists. But however the selection process works, the result is indisputable: 'This time it will surely run,' or 'I just found the last bug'. " - quote from Frederick Brooks, Jr.